Magic newcomer makes mark

Still in the infancy of her transtasman league netball career, powerhouse teenage defender Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick has ticked all the right boxes so far for Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic.
While it is no certainty the 1.88m baby of the team will make the starting line-up for Magic against Queensland Firebirds in Brisbane on Monday, Tone-Fitzpatrick, 18, has left no doubts about her enormous potential.
"To be honest, I don't think anyone knew who I was at the start. I'm just glad the coaches had the confidence to put me out there on court," she said.
"Having the likes of Casey Williams and Peta Scholz in front of you makes the job a whole lot easier."
Tone-Fitzpatrick has made the starting line-up for Magic's last two outings, against Melbourne Vixens and West Coast Fever. Both produced prized wins over Australian opponents, the latter a rugged and battling last-gasp win in Perth on Monday.
From the position of goalkeeper, Tone-Fitzpatrick played a strong hand in keeping the Magic in the game with a string of timely intercepts and rebounds.
"It gave us another opportunity to adjust to the Aussie style of play and was a bit of a wake-up call for us in terms of our preparation for Firebirds," she said.
A former national secondary school representative and current New Zealand under-21 squad member, Tone-Fitzpatrick had her first involvement in the transtasman competition last year with Northern Mystics.
Seeing only one quarter of action during that time, Tone-Fitzpatrick was just happy to be involved and had no complaints with the Auckland franchise when they did not chase her signature this year.
Tone-Fitzpatrick has a maturity beyond her years, remaining firmly grounded as she shuffles full-time study in the first year of a law degree with the far from normal life of a semi-professional netballer. Her family have played a key role behind the scenes with her parents going the extra mile, especially in providing the taxi service which has notched up multiple return commutes between Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga to get Tone-Fitzpatrick to training.
The playing future of Australian netball captain Sharelle McMahon is under threat, after the veteran suffered a serious Achilles injury during the Melbourne Vixens' 10-goal loss to ANZ Championship leaders the Queensland Firebirds last night in Melbourne.
Vixens coach Julie Hoornweg admitted that if scans showed a rupture in the Achilles it would be difficult for McMahon to return to the highest levels of the game.
For the Firebirds, the 52-42 win is their eighth consecutive for the season and their fourth victory in a row away from home.
In last night's other game, a third-quarter turnaround of monumental proportions saw the Canterbury Tactix secure their first victory of the season, 49-44 over Southern Steel, in Christchurch.
At home for the first time since last month's earthquake, the Tactix took the third spell 17-5 then held on in a hectic final 15 minutes to shut out the win.